Why You Should Use Top Tier Gasoline

[SC2150]

This will ONLY help keep deposits from forming on intake valves of a port injection engine, all todays V6's are DI so fuel never touches the valves. Below are pictures of a LY7 port injection motor w/app 120,000 miles running mostly Shell and Mobil:



The DI LLT after 15,000 miles with top tier ful used:


Our beloved V8's will all be DI in the next 2-3 years as well.

The benefits of keeping fuel injectors clean longer will always be worth running top tier fuels though, but this is a serious negative of DI but the benefits are many over port inj.

[Kyle2k]

Could you run methanol injection to keep everything clean up top?

[tones2SS]

Originally Posted by The_Blur

Some car guys swear by everything on their car, down to the gas that fuels it. Sometimes, the name brand isn't the most important thing; however, we need products we can trust when it comes to the lifeblood that fuels our cars.

Additives are regularly included in a variety of oil products for various reasons. You might add a viscosity additive to change the resistance to flow of an oil, or you might add a detergent to clean up deposits.

There is a lot of chemistry that goes into how much is the right amount for gas. With the wrong balance, you could be producing excessive byproducts that turn your oil to useless sludge. That's why we use certain brands of oils over others, but oil isn't the only thing going through your engine.

Gas burns to produce the desirable results we get when we push the gas pedal, and that chemical reaction produces byproducts. These byproducts end up sticking to parts of the engine closest to the combustion, like valves and pistons. In order to clean them up, we use name brand oils, but we also should use Top Tier gasoline to ensure that these deposits don't make it to the next oil change.

Over the years, many gas stations have been reducing the detergents added to their gas.

This very true. I guy a used to work with had a friend that works in that field and says that the no name gas stations usually get the "bottom of the barrel" type gas. I always use Mobil gas in the Camaro. Nothing else.

[patternpilot]

Its funny to hear everyone's interpretation of what gas is what. I work in fuel farms where the fuel trucks come and load at the load racks. Just for everyone's information, they all get the same gas. It comes out of the same tank for the most part. While some companies have their own branded tanks, the fuel that goes into those tanks comes out of the same pipeline as the rest of the tanks.
Now the difference in the fuels is the additives put into the fuels as they are loaded onto the trucks. Each driver inputs a code for the brand name they are hauling for, that tells the dispenser what additive and how much to put in the fuel. Some point of sales do not have any additives added and some have their own exclusive brand and quantity of additive. So the brand of gasoline you buy is not relative other than the additives. They are all the same octane for that grade of gasoline.One other piece of information that is interesting is that the fuel coming through the pipeline to the fuel farm has different grades of fuel in the pipe at the same time, including diesel. The operator measures the specific gravity of the fuel as it passes through the pipe line and diverts the fuel they want into the tanks. When the gravity changes, they divert that fuel into another tank. The different fuels are touching each other in the pipe line (there is no physical separation, so some mixing takes place) and that mixed fuel is diverted into a tank that is sent back to the refinery to be reprocessed.
I hope this helps to understand that Shell gas is not better than Costco, it just may have different additives.

[knowitman]

Originally Posted by patternpilot

Its funny to hear everyone's interpretation of what gas is what. I work in fuel farms where the fuel trucks come and load at the load racks. Just for everyone's information, they all get the same gas. It comes out of the same tank for the most part. While some companies have their own branded tanks, the fuel that goes into those tanks comes out of the same pipeline as the rest of the tanks.
Now the difference in the fuels is the additives put into the fuels as they are loaded onto the trucks. Each driver inputs a code for the brand name they are hauling for, that tells the dispenser what additive and how much to put in the fuel. Some point of sales do not have any additives added and some have their own exclusive brand and quantity of additive. So the brand of gasoline you buy is not relative other than the additives. They are all the same octane for that grade of gasoline.One other piece of information that is interesting is that the fuel coming through the pipeline to the fuel farm has different grades of fuel in the pipe at the same time, including diesel. The operator measures the specific gravity of the fuel as it passes through the pipe line and diverts the fuel they want into the tanks. When the gravity changes, they divert that fuel into another tank. The different fuels are touching each other in the pipe line (there is no physical separation, so some mixing takes place) and that mixed fuel is diverted into a tank that is sent back to the refinery to be reprocessed.
I hope this helps to understand that Shell gas is not better than Costco, it just may have different additives.

While the bulk gasoline may be the same, its those additives that have much research put into them because they do have some added value. They are what define the different brands of gasoline. Even though slight mixing occurs in the pipeline, it isn't much compared to the amount of each grade of gasoline sent.

[malave7567]

Originally Posted by knowitman

While the bulk gasoline may be the same, its those additives that have much research put into them because they do have some added value. They are what define the different brands of gasoline. Even though slight mixing occurs in the pipeline, it isn't much compared to the amount of each grade of gasoline sent.

What each company adds makes a big difference to how your car responds... using my brother's SI as reference again, it would ping like crazy when on 91 octane from Alon (well it was still Fina back then) or Walmart, but after using Phillips or Conoco for a tank or two, it would be back to perfectly smooth. If he had to use another non-top tier station, it would go right back to pinging like crazy. The brand of fuel does make a difference.

[Vroom_vroom]

Yea it obviously makes a difference: after my last car was tuned I would watch the knock retard gauge driving the same route every day and shell gas would pull next to nothing in timing on the route, chevron however was pulling timing like crazy and both where the same octane rating

[SC2150]

Originally Posted by patternpilot

Its funny to hear everyone's interpretation of what gas is what. I work in fuel farms where the fuel trucks come and load at the load racks. Just for everyone's information, they all get the same gas. It comes out of the same tank for the most part. While some companies have their own branded tanks, the fuel that goes into those tanks comes out of the same pipeline as the rest of the tanks.
Now the difference in the fuels is the additives put into the fuels as they are loaded onto the trucks. Each driver inputs a code for the brand name they are hauling for, that tells the dispenser what additive and how much to put in the fuel. Some point of sales do not have any additives added and some have their own exclusive brand and quantity of additive. So the brand of gasoline you buy is not relative other than the additives. They are all the same octane for that grade of gasoline.One other piece of information that is interesting is that the fuel coming through the pipeline to the fuel farm has different grades of fuel in the pipe at the same time, including diesel. The operator measures the specific gravity of the fuel as it passes through the pipe line and diverts the fuel they want into the tanks. When the gravity changes, they divert that fuel into another tank. The different fuels are touching each other in the pipe line (there is no physical separation, so some mixing takes place) and that mixed fuel is diverted into a tank that is sent back to the refinery to be reprocessed.
I hope this helps to understand that Shell gas is not better than Costco, it just may have different additives.

Accurate info!! Yes, same here as the port of Manateee is minutes away the workers we know there tell the same thing. It is the aditives.

[rez333]

Originally Posted by shank0668

Funny thing is that they list shell and the few times we have tried it they V8's wouldn't run worth a crap.

In English please. I don't understand Pidgin.

[rez333]

Originally Posted by The_Blur

This just lists the minimum requirements. Some companies on this list are superior in content.

which ones are superior?

[its a syn]

Originally Posted by TheReaper

I buy from the Big Boys.
Shell
Chevron
Exxon
BP

I don't see BP listed and a quick looksy at their web site and no mention of being top tier

[skoal bandit]

Just buy it right from your local distributor like me 93 octane,ethanol free and its where all the local(name brands) stations get their gas.

It's a little more trouble,but it's a little cheaper but it's the best gas around both top tier and the rest use that dealer